Suitcase



C. FASEL AND W. W. GARLAND.

' SUITCASE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.13| 1920.

1,882,964, Patented June 28, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. FASEL AND W. W. GARLAND. SUITCASE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13. 1920.

1,382,964, PatentedJune 28, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SUITCASE.

Application filed August f3, 1920. Serial No. 403,272.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES FASEL and WILLIAM W. GARLAND, citizens ofthe United. States, residing at Butte, in the .county of Silver BowandState of Montana,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suitcases, of whichthe folkl lowing is a specification. G

This invention relates to an improved form of suit case particularlydesigned to carry a suit of clothes, or other garments, in suchmanner asto insure against wrinkling or creasing thereof, and, in fact, maintainthe garments for a long period of time, in as well pressed condition aswhen received from the tailor.

Although the invention is primarily directed to the-provision of a suitcase having a single compartment to receive the suit of clothes, it iscontemplated that the same may form part of a combination suit case madeup to carry a suit in one compartment with a larger compartment, orcompartments, for general use, or, if desired, more than one suitcompartment may be provided, either without or in combination with acompartment, or compartments for general use.

he invention essentially comprises a suit case having a compartmentprovided in its upper portion with a cross rod, or rods,

- from which the several garments comprismg a suit, 71. 6., coat, vest,andtrousers in the "case of amans suit, may be suspended. Speciallydesigned rod holders located in the upper corners of the suitcompartment and secured to the end walls thereof serve aslmeans forquickly securing the rods in place, when so desired, leaving the suitcase free from obstructions and ready to be used for any otherpurposes'desired.

The invention is further characterized by the fact that the garments arenot hung in rods and suspended the suit com artment at full length butare intended to e foldedover the supporting at a point approx1- matelymidway of their length, thereby materially reducing the size of the suitcase. This manner of suspending the garments 1s a distinct advantageover the usual method .of hanging the garment rightside up on a hangerwith the'bottom'of the'garment-folded back up and secured with clamps,straps and various other means which tend to com press the garments andcause undesirable creasing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

and permit of their ready removal Patented June 28,1921.

While the invention will be described with particular reference to itsuse for carrying mens suits, it will be readily seen that it is equallyadapted for ladies suits or any other garments desired to be carriedwithout unnecessary folding and the resulting wrining or creasing of thegarments. In order to assist in and assure the proper folding of thesuit, use is made of certain forms made of wood, card board or othersuitable material. These forms further serve to prevent the garmentsfrom jamming down into one end of the case as when the same is shippedby express, stood on end, or otherwise roughly handled.

Other and further advantages of the invention will appear upon referenceto the following description, and the accompanying drawings, whereinlike numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein Figure 1 represents a perspective .of the open suitcase with thesuit removed and the hanger rods in place;

Fig. 2 the trousers in place on the forms without the coat or vest,preliminary to placing the suit in the suit case;

*ig. 3 the suit on the forms and in the position in which it is placedin the suit case, behind one of the hanger rods and before it is foldeddown;

Fig. 4, the suit folded down in place ready for the lid of the suit caseto be closed;

Fig. 5, a view showing another manner of hanging the suit in the case,use being made of the 'second hanger rod to support the trousers outsidethe coat and vest;

.Fig. 6, a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 7,showing the manner in which the hanger rods are supported in the rodholders at the ends of the case;

Fig. 7, a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6'; a

Fig. 8, a perspective of one of the rod holders removed from the suitcase;

Fig. 9, a fragmentary perspective of one end of the larger hangerrod,and

Fig. 10, a transverse'sectional view of a two compartment suit case withthe invention applied thereto.

The suit-case proper, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5, comprises a bodysection 1 and a lid section 2 hinged together at their lower edges inthe usual manner. At their upper ends the sections may usual catches 3or other suitable devicgs for means to the inner securing thesections'in closed osition. A handle 4 provides for carrying t e suitcase. As shown in these figures, the suit case is made of a sizedesigned to carrya sin le suit of clothes, and of suitable inside wi thto prevent packing the folds of the garments so closely when the suitcase is closed as to cause undesirable creasing.

Located in the upper corners of section 1 and secured by riveting orother suitable faces of end members 5 and 6 are rod holders 7 and 8adapted to receive the ends of hanger rods 9 and 10, upon which the suitis hung. These rod holders are duplicates, each preferably being stampedfrom a single sheet of metal. En-

larged views'of rod holder 8 are shown in' Figs. 6, 7 and 8. ,Eachholder is provided with duplicate slots 11- and 12, either of which isadapted to receive the end of rods 9 or 10. Depending portions 13 and 14of the rod holder serve to form a base for the same in which areprovided holes 15 for riveting the rod holderin place. Extending frombase portion 13 a suitable distance into slots 11 and 12 respectivel areinclined spring tongues 16 and 17. spending portions 18 and 19serve toform the ends of the rod holder.

Hanger rod 10 is made of uniform diameter throughout its length andcorresponds to the width of slots 11 and 12 in the rod holders. Rod 9,however, is of larger diamof the rod holders, or vice versa; as desired.

'- and then springing Each rod is secured in place by simply placing theends of the same above the open ends of the desired pair of slots,whereupon a slight"downward.pressure on the rod will serve. to force theends thereof past the spring tongues and "into the lower ends of theslots, the spring tongues bending downwardly to permit passage of therod ends back into position to firmly hold the rod in place, as clearlyshown in Figs. 6 and 7. In order to remove a rod, one spring tongue isheld in depressed position by means of the finger and the end of the rodraised, whereupon the rod may readily be removed.

Referring to Fig. 2, there are shown the forms 21 and 22 on which thesuit is placed before being hung in the suit case. Theupper form 21 hasan opening 23 through which the trousersare hun while form 22 serves toassist in folding t e lower part of the coat in proper position afterthe coat and vest are hung' on form 21 over the trousers.

These formsmaybe tied toglether by means of strings 24, 25, passing trough suitable perforations therein, or by other suitable" means, andadjusted to the proper length of any suit.

In use, rods 9 and 10 are first removed and (placed in the suit case, asshown in Fig.

ne of the hanger rods is then placed across the suitand secured in rodholders 7 and 8, and the suit folded down so that the fold comes asnearly in the center as possible as shown on Fig. 4;. When the threeparts of the suit are hung on the forms with the trousers inside,-anditis therefore necessary to use only one of the hanger rods 9, 10, to hangthe ,suit in the case, rod 10 is the more desirable as it is of smallerdiameter than rod 9, and hence will permit a fold of less thickness tobe formed in the suit than if rod 9 were used, thus precluding anylikelihood of pressure from the sides of the suitease.

With the above described method, only one ofthe two rods 9, 10, is used.Fig. 5 shows another method of carrying the suit,

use being made of both rods. With this method, the coat and vest onlyare hung on forms 21, 22, and placed in the suit case, as shown in Fig.3, rod 9 being used in the upper slots 11 of rod holders 7, 8, insteadof,

rod 10. The trousers are then folded in the middle and laid flat on thecoat, rod 10 then being secured in position in the lower slots 12 of therod hahgers for hanging the trousers. The trousers are then folded overrod 10, as shown in Fig. 5, and the upper part thick where it folds overthe upper rod and may cause some slight creases. Furthermore, the use ofa rod of smaller diameter inside the coat, prevents the foldedtrousersfrom causing any undesirable bulging of the coat and consequentpressure from the walls of the case.

When the suit case is intended to be car-.

ried, or where it is not likely to be subjected to any severe tumblingor throwing around, forms 21, 22 ma be entirely eliminated, the coat andvest being folded, as shown in Fig.

,3, and upper rod 9 placed in position. The

trousers are thenfolded and secured in position on rod 10, as describedabove with reference toFlg. 5, and the coat and vest folded 'down, as inFig. 4;.

It is intended that rod holders 7, 8 and pended claims,

be so designed and the holders so located in the suit case as to supportrods-9, 10 substantially midway between the side-walls of thecompartment, so that when the suit is placed on the rods it will hangcentrally within the case.

Fig. 10, shows the invention embodied in a two compartment combinationsuit case, the same in general comprising a body section 31 having ahandle 32 and a cover sec-' tion 33, said sections being hinged togetherat 34. A partition 35 connected by hinges 36 at its lower edge to bodysection 31, allows the body section 31 to be used for general purposes,while lid section 33 provided with rods 37, 38 and rod holders 39,

similar to those described with reference to the single compartment suitcase, serves as may a separate compartment in which a suit be hung ashereinbefore explained.

IA suit of clothes folded and hung in this suit case by either of themethods described, while a Very simple matter and requiring no specialcare, will remain in splendidly pressed condition and may" be kept inthe suit case for long periods of time and carried great distances andyet be in perfect condition to wear when removed for use.

It is to be understood that the term suit case, as. used in thedescription and ap-' is intended to include, not

only the usual hand receptacle, but any case,

. compartment, trunk, or other receptacle in which it may be desired toprovide means for carrying a suit of clothes in the manner herein setforth, also wherever the terms coat and vest or trousers are used thesame shall include the corresponding garments of a ladys suit or anyother similar piece of wearing apparel. 3 What we claim is 1. Incombination with a suitcase, a hanger rod located in the upper portionthereof over which a coat and vest may be folded; means for detachablysecuring said rod in place; a form around which the upper portion ofsaid coat and vest maybe folded; and a second form around which thelower portion of said coat and vest may be folded.

2. In combination with a suitcase, a hanger rod located in the upperportion thereof over which a coat and vest may be folded; means fordetachably securing said rod in place; a form around which the upperportion of said coat and vest may be folded; a second form around whichthe lower portion of said coat and vest may be folded; and adjustablemeans connecting said forms.

3. In combination with a suitcase, a

. the garments may 'be gether sition directly detachably securing saidrod in hanger rod located in the upper portion thereof overaz which acoat and vest may be folded; a second hanger rod located beneath ondform around which the lower portion.

of said coat and vest may be folded.

4. In combination with a suitcase, a hanger rod located in the upperportion thereof over which a coatand vest may be folded; a second rodlocated directly be neath said first mentioned rod over which a pairoftrousers may be folded whereby nested; and means for removablysupporting said rods in place.

5. A suit case comprising two hinged tosections; rod holders located inthe upper corners of one-of said sections; a removable hanger rodadapted to be held in said rods in place; a v

place by said holders; and a second reniovable rod of-smaller diameteradaptedto be held inplace by said rod holders in a pobeneath saidfirst'rod whereby the garments may be nested.

6. In combination with a suitcase, rod holders located in the upper.corners thereof and attached to the ends of the case; and a hanger rodsupported at its ends in said rod holders, said holders having slots toreceive the ends of the rod and tongues located-in said slots .to securesaid rod in place. I

7. In combination with a suitcase, rod holders located in the uppercorners thereof and attached to the ends of the case; a hanger rodsupported at its ends in said holders; a second hanger rod locatedbeneath said first mentioned rod and supported at its ends in theholders; said rod holders having slots to receive the ends of said rodsand inclined spring tongues located in hanger rod located in the 1 upperportion thereof over which a suit may be folded substantially midway ofits length; means for place; a form around which the upper portion ofthe coat and vest may be folded, said form be-- ing provided with anopening to receive the trousers; and -a second form-v around which thelower portion of the coat and vest may be folded. H

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

CHARLES FAS-EL.

WILLiAM w. GARLAND.

